Umbrella



P 1, 1964 WASAKU IWASHITA 3,146,785

UMBRELLA Filed May 26, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 1, 1964 WASAKUlWASHlTA UMBRELLA 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 26, 1961 United StatesPatent 3,146,785 UMBRELLA Wasaku Iwashita, 4/ 396 l-chome, Daita, Tokyo,Japan Filed May 26, 1961, Ser. No. 126,372 1 Claim. (Cl. 135-25) Thepresent invention relates to a novel umbrella or parasol having neithera sliding collar nor supporting rods connecting the sliding collar tothe umbrella ribs.

The present invention'lies substantially in a construction of theumbrella or parasol, wherein ribs are rotatably engaged with a lowermetallic member of a tackle block rigidly secured to an upper member ofthe handle, and simultaneously cams are accommodated in said metallicmember, and portions for engaging said ribs are compressed or releasedby the vertical movement of said cams to open or close the umbrella orparasol (the term of parasol will be represented with the term ofumbrella in the following descriptions).

Thus, the opening and closing of umbrellas are facilitated according tothe present invention, due to the fact that there is no sliding collar,supporting rods connecting the collar to the umbrella ribs and a stopfor the sliding collar, which usually constitute the majority of causesfor the malfunctioning of umbrellas. Moreover, it is possible for theumbrella to be lowered closer to the head of an umbrella user, andaccordingly to reduce the diameter of the umbrella, because of nosupporting rods disturbing the approach of the user. In addition, thedanger of one getting his finger caught between the stop and the slidingcollar is also eliminated.

On the other hand, according to this invention, any suitable fabric maybe stretched over the frame of the umbrella; for instance, oneconsisting of a permeable metallized fabric having an aluminum filmcoated by the vacuum evaporation method may be used with a remarkableconvenience as a parasol for ladies, since such a parasol can besuitably folded for accommodating said parasol in a hand bag.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the stretched fabricreferred to above may be a metallized textile fabric with a coatedmetallic film, or knitted fabric being lapped with a metallic film onthe outside and back side thereof. Since the fabric lining can besuitably selected among fabrics having designs based on colorings andpatterns, parasols having beautiful patterns or tints can be provided,to satisfy the taste of the users. Moreover, the presence of an air gapbetween the stretched and lined fabrics forms a layer of insulation forimproved coolness.

In the following, the present invention will be further described inconnection with the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings,wherein similar parts are represented by similar symbols, of whichdrawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation illustrating the umbrella according to thisinvention in an open condition with a part thereof being cut olf;

FIG. 2 is another elevation illustrating the umbrella in an identicalbut closed condition with a part thereof being cut off;

FIG. 3 is a plan of the umbrella out along line III--III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an elevation of the tackle block and cam in the umbrellareferred to above,

FIG. 5 is an elevation of a top metallic member of said tackle block;

FIG. 6 is an elevation of a lower metallic member of said tackle block;

FIG. 7 is a sectional plan cut along the VII-VII of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an oblique view of the parasol according to the presentinvention;

3,146,785 Patented Sept. 1, 1964 ice FIG. 9 is a partial plan view ofthe stretched cloth; and

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view of FIGURE 9.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 is a main post or handle ofthe umbrella of the present invention and 2 is a lower metallic memberof a tackle block 20 which is secured to an upper end of said main post3 are several engaging grooves or slots formed on the circumference ofsaid lower metallic member; 4 is an upper metallic member of said tackleblock; 5 is a screw penetrating the upper metallic member 4 and lowermetallic member 2 of tackle block 20; said screw 5 is fixed with a stopwasher 6 on a bottom surface 21 of the lower metallic member 2, and hasan upper spherical grip 7. Further, the screw 5 is threaded through cams8 as shown in FIG. 4. All of those cams 8 are contained in the lowermetallic member 2 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and are prevented fromrotating by a key 9 but permitted to slide freely in a verticaldirection. The main post 1 is secured to a stepped portion 23 of thelower metallic member 2 with a pin 24 through a bushing 22. Eachrespective rib 10 forms an engaging portion 11 extending from its end,which is bent at about right angles, said bent portion being received inan engaging groove 3 provided in the lower metallic member 2 as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, which is engaged with a cam groove 12 provided in a cam8. The ends of the ribs are provided with spherical portions 13 seatedin the cam grooves 12, to thereby prevent the ribs from becomingdetached from the tackle block.

The constructional members referred to above are united in an assemblageas illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3. In this case, however, the engagingportion 11 of each rib 10 is positioned between a bottom portion 25 ofthe engaging groove 3 and a lower face 26 of the upper metallic member4, which is engaged with the cam groove 12 of cam 8 in the lowermetallic member 2. Since the spherical portions 13 are larger than thenarrow width portions of the cam grooves 12, the engaging portions 11are prevented from slipping out of the bottom member. When the cams 8are lowered along the sliding keys 9 by turning the grip 7, ribs 10 willbe raised spontaneously and opened as apparent in FIG. 1 by engagingportions 11 positioned as in FIG. 2 being pushed with cam face 27, andheld firmly between the lower metallic member 2 and cam face 27 toretain the position. In the next place, when compressive stress on theengaging portions 11 is released by raising cams 8 from the conditionshown by FIG. 1, said engaging portions will turn the portionscontacting with the bottom portions 25 of the engaging grooves 3 aroundaxis, thereby closing ribs 10 as shown in FIG. 2.

Further, the post I of the umbrella is designed to be extremelyconstructed from a plurality of rods 28, 29 and simultaneously each ofthe ribs 10 is designed similarly to be composed of two or moreextendable or telescoping ribs 30; wherein ribs 30 are telescopicallyreceived within ribs 10. In this case, 14 and 15 are string-holdingrings useful for the stretched fabric 17. 16 is a pushing flange forfixing said stretched fabric, which is incorporated with the uppermetallic member 4.

The stretched fabric 17 for the parasol referred to above is illustratedin detail in FIGS. 8 to 10. Namely, since said parasol reflects themajority of visible rays of sunshine, including ultra-violet rays, andheat rays, it is very cool inside the parasol. Moreover, as the fabricis transparent through the texture, an umbrella is extremely useful as aparasol, beach parasol or the like. However, since the stretched fabric17 has a metallic film 18 formed on one side, patterns formed on theground fabric by printing or otherwise would not be sufficientlyeffective.

Therefore, it is preferable to use a stretched fabric 17, such as ametallized textile fabric with the metallic film 18 being coated so asnot to obliterate the patterns, or a stretched fabric 17 prepared bylapping together a knitted fabric 32 and a lined fabric 19 so as to forman air gap 31.

In the case referred to above, the lining fabric 19 may be eithertextile fabric or knitted fabric; on the other hand, fabrics havingvarious patterns such as designs from tints, patterns or hairs planted,which meet the taste of users, and both the front and back surfaces ofthe cloth may be subjected to a water proof treatment if necessary.Since an umbrella of beautiful pattern or tints can be provided tosatisfy the taste of users, a parasol can be provided, having acombination of said practicability due to reflection of light and heaton one hand with the parasol of taste on the other, and the presence ofair gap 31 between the front and back fabrics increases coolnessfurther.

Furthermore, the present invention may be not only applicable toparasols, but also to various sorts of umbrellas, such as beachparasols, common umbrellas and parabrellas (or umbrellas for rain andshine), thereby providing tasteful and practical umbrellas which can beopened and closed in a simple operation and simultaneously are of asmall size and extremely handy as a portable umbrella.

What is claimed:

In an umbrella of the character described, the combination comprising ahandle having telescoping sections in one end and having a mountingbushing in an opposite end, a tackle block having upper and lowercup-shaped members in opposed relation to define a chamber therein, astepped portion extending from said lower member and being secured tosaid mounting bushing, a plurality of slot means spaced about theperiphery of said lower member,

said upper member being larger than said lower member to telescopethereover and substantially cover said slots means, screw meansextending through said upper and lower members, cam means threaded ontosaid screw means and being axially displaced in the chamber uponrotation of the screw means, a plurality of umbrella forming ribsradially extending from said tackle block, said ribs includingtelescopic members whereby the size of the umbrella may be reduced whenin a closed position, each rib having a spherical end engaging said cammeans and a bent portion adjacent said spherical end engaging acorresponding one of said slot means to define a fulcrum for said eachrib, a cover secured to said ribs for movement therewith to an openposition upon operation of said tackle block, said cover including apair of fabrics secured together at their inner and outer peripheries todefine a dead air space therebetween, and a reflective surface on one ofsaid fabrics to reflect light and heat rays.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS290,831 Allen Dec. 25, 1883 1,748,347 Horowitz Feb. 25, 1930 1,785,561Riley Dec. 16, 1930 1,797,019 Polansky Mar. 17, 1931 1,902,774 HauptMar. 21, 1933 2,042,030 Tainton May 26, 1936 2,746,469 DAndrea May 22,1956 2,766,457 Wielandt Oct. 16, 1956 2,772,685 Koch Dec. 4, 19562,932,304 Voege et a1 Apr. 12, 1960 3,072,920 Yellott Jan. 15, 1963FOREIGN PATENTS 1,114,846 France Dec. 26, 1955 1,145,042 France Apr. 29,1957

